The two candidates for the 2012 NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award both had major surgeries in the offseason, leaving their fans and fantasy owners doubtful how well they would perform this year, if they would even be able to play at all. However, Adrian Peterson and Peyton Manning, two players who have come back so strong from injuries that they are also in the running for the MVP award, have clearly put those doubts to rest. These two players have shown all season long why they are such a crucial part of their teams. Manning and Peterson have come a long way since their injuries, but who is more deserving of this award? Here are your two candidates for NFL Comeback Player of the Year: The first candidate is Adrian “All Day” Peterson, the superstar running back for the Minnesota Vikings. Last season, Peterson tore his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve in a victory that also cost them the No. 2 draft spot to draft Robert Griffin III. During the offseason, many fans believed that Peterson would never be the same explosive, powerful back and that he would have a season in which he would barely play. Peterson, though, looks as if he were shot out of a cannon since the season’s beginning, carrying his team to a 6-4 record despite minimal help from Christian Ponder and the passing game.

Through ten games this season, Peterson has accumulated 1,128 yards on the ground, 7 touchdowns, and a remarkable 5.8 yards per carry. He leads the NFL in yards per game with 112.8 and also leads the NFL with the most runs of 20+ yards with 13. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier expected to have to limit Peterson’s workload by using a running-back-by-committee approach with A.P. and backup Toby Gerhart splitting carries. At this point of the season, Peterson has run using his surgically repaired right knee 195 times, which puts him on pace to just surpass his career-high in number of carries, which is at 363 in 2008. He is also on pace to surpass the 1,760 rushing yards he had in 2008. If anything, the Vikings offense has leaned on A.P. more than ever before, and he has never been more important to his team’s success.

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Besides Peterson, the other main candidate for Comeback Player of the Year is Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Denver Broncos. After a very risky spinal fusion surgery, Peyton Manning himself thought he might be headed for retirement, and the Indianapolis Colts agreed with him by cutting ties with him after drafting the promising Andrew Luck. Soon after Manning was released by the Colts, the Broncos took a big risk by signing Manning to a five-year deal, hoping that he still had plenty of life in his game. Just ten weeks into the 2012 season, the Broncos’ gamble has paid off. Manning thus far has a completion percentage of 68.5%, the second highest of his career, and 2,975 passing yards, which puts him on pace to set a career high, surpassing his 4,700 from 2010. He also has 24 touchdowns, which puts him on pace for the second-highest total of his career, behind his 49 TDs in 2004. He has also churned out a quarterback rating of 106.2, second only to his 121.1 rating from 2004. After such a career-threatening surgery, Manning has still able to throw one of the league’s fastest and tightest spirals to the spots where the ball needs to be. His throws downfield still have just the right amount of touch, and he is still able to fit balls in tight windows. His arm durability is also strong as ever, having thrown over forty passes in a couple of games and having had one game in which he had over fifty attempts. Manning has yet to have a game this season in which he has not thrown a touchdown and has played virtually mistake-free aside from one early season loss to the Atlanta Falcons. During the offseason and preseason, Manning was performing drills in which he could barely throw beyond 20 yards, and most of his balls hung in the air and came out wobbly. Manning has made one of the greatest comebacks in league history, returning after nearly 20 months away from the game and numerous surgeries on his neck. He has performed at a level that no one--not even he himself--could have expected. Peyton is playing the way to NFL fans have grown accustomed for the past decade, taking command of the offense, changing the plays at the line as always, and slinging the ball around the field. Manning deserves this award if he can keep up his great pace, but he will need to outplay Peterson in the coming weeks.Both Peterson and Manning have come a long way since their injuries and may have even improved during their time off the field. When the time comes for the NFL experts to select a winner for the award, it will be far from easy. Who would have thought that two players usually under MVP consideration would also be the leading candidates for the Comeback Player of the Year Award?